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Jubilee Lodge #692Continued from previous pagesettled in this area of Florida. This monumentwas erected at the BarbervillePioneer Settlement where many peoplevisit to see the history of this area. TheSwedish Pioneers were responsible forThe Swedish Pioneer MemorialVinland of Cape Cod Lodge #703The leaves on our trees prematurelyturned brown and fell in early Septemberdue to Hurricane Irene. However, theupcoming season for our lodge containedbright, busy and bountiful programs andmeetings. We reconvened in September,updating family news, sharing leisuretime interests and planning for newevents.In October, we invited friends to joinus as we showcased international entreesand desserts at an International Potluckluncheon. November featured a speakeron the origins of “The 12 Days ofChristmas.” On December 10 children,grandchildren and their friends will participatein the Lucia procession led by2011 Lucia, Grace Sohoel Goldberg. Wewill dance around the Christmas tree, listento holiday stories and feast on festivedesserts and tea sandwiches. Our uniqueCape Cod, MAthe worldwide fern industry, an orangeindustry and celery industry in the centralFlorida area.Submitted by: Cecilia Jackson,Past Secretarygift raffle will conclude the Lucia Fest. Itis through our planning and workingtogether to present dinners, meetings andprograms that we are able to share andcare for each other. We are so blessedwith friendship.As we gather together, we willremember Wally Lornell, GeorgeLundquist, Derelyn Twombly, JohnMcDonald, Evind Sohoel and FlorenceFreeman. We also lost a charter member,Lena Anderson. We've had a lot of funeralsand memorial services in the pastmonths, but each one has lived a wonderfuland contributory life. We have beenblessed to have known and to haveworked alongside them. We extend loveand sympathy to their friends, familiesand caregivers.Submitted by: Dorothy Ann-Ellner KeanNordic Lodge #708Atlanta, GASeptember 25th, 2011, was a fun day.The featured entertainment was somethingwe never had in this lodge. Vodka!Well, vodka we had before, especiallywith crawfish. But we never had a VodkaAcademy. What we had was an “AbsolutAkademi,” hosted by Absolut Vodka’sKristin Young, from United Distributors.Kristin educated us about Absolut andserved us three different kinds ofAbsolut’s 13 flavor varieties - not muchthough, just a tiny bit of each as a tastetest. We learned that entrepreneur LarsOlsen Smith in 1879 introduced andperfected a now time-honored method ofdistillation. He bottled what he called“Absolut Rent Brännvin.” We alsolearned that Absolut Vodka goes througha seven column distillation process and isdistilled literally hundreds of times. Thevodka is produced in Åhus, nearKristianstad, in Sweden’s southernmostprovince, Skåne. It is sold in 126countries, no longer owned by theSwedish government, but by the Frenchcompany Pernod Ricard.In the spring the Lodge announced aschnapps song contest. We wantedpeople to write a Swedish style schnappssong text to any well-known melody. Thesong had to be in English and the word“Absolut” had to be included in thetext. The winner was to be announced atthe “Absolut Akademi” on September25th. A few days before 9/25 the twojudges, Professor Jay Lutz andGöran Rygert put their heads together,sang through the four received entries,actually without any vodka. Finally theymade the decision. Two winners wereselected.At the end of the “Akademi” programit was time to reveal the winners. But firstwe had to sing through all four entries –we had them printed on a song-sheet. Weactually sang six songs, including twoolder schnapps songs about Absolut thatdid not participate in the contest. Afterpointing out that the judges’ decisioncould not be appealed the winners wereannounced.First prize, a bottle of Absolut Vodka,went to Jette Bender for “Drink Absolut,You Can’t Go Wrong. The melody is “ISee The Moon.”Continued on next pageVasa Star October-December 2011 www.vasaorder.com Page 13